Reported speech
REPORTED SPEECH
Direct Speech is the exact words someone said. We use quotation marks in Direct Speech. “I’ll go to London,” she said. Reported Speech is the exact meaning of what someone said but not the exact words. We do not use quotation marks in Reported Speech. She said she would go to London.SAY – TELL – ASK
Say is used in Direct Speech. It is also used in Reported Speech when say is not followed by the
person the words were spoken to.
(Direct Speech) “I can fix it,” he said. ® (Reported Speech) He said he could fix it.
Tell is used in Reported Speech when it is followed by the person the words were spoken to.
(Direct Speech) “I can do it,” he said to me. ® (Reported Speech) He told me he could do it.
We use ask in reported questions and commands, or in direct questions.
He said to me, “Help me!” ® He asked me to help him. He asked, “Are you ill?” ® He asked me if I was ill. · We can report: A. statements B. questions C. commands, requestsREPORTED STATEMENTS
1. To report statements we use a reporting verb (say, tell etc) followed by a that-clause. In spoken
English that can be omitted. He said, “I feel sick.” He said (that) he felt sick.
2. Pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to the context.
Direct Speech: He said, “I’ll lend you my car.” Reported Speech: He said he would lend me his car.3. Time words and tenses can change as follows depending on the time reference:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| tonight, today, this week/month/year | that night, that day, that week/month/year |
| now | then, at that time, at once, immediately |
| yesterday, last night/week/month/year | the day before, the previous night/week/month/year |
| tomorrow, next week/month/year | the following day/the day after, the following/next week/month/year |
| two days/months/years etc ago | two days/months/years etc before |
“Tom is leaving tomorrow,” she said.
She said Tom was leaving the following day. (Speech reported after Tom had left.) “Bob is leaving tomorrow,” she said. She said Bob is leaving tomorrow. (Speech reported before Bob has left.)4. When the reporting verb is in the past, the verb tenses change as follows:
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
| Present Simple “He works hard,” she said. | Past Simple She said he worked hard. |
| Present Continuous “He is watching TV,” she said. | Past Continuous She said he was watching TV. |
| Present Perfect “He has just left,” she said. | Past Perfect She said he had just left. |
| Past Simple “He left an hour ago,” she said. | Past Perfect She said he had left an hour before. |
| Future “He’ll be back in an hour,” she said. | Conditional She said he would be back in an hour. |
| Present Perfect Continuous “I’ve been typing since morning,” she said. | Past Perfect Continuous She said she had been typing since morning. |
5. If the direct verb is already in the Past Simple, in Reported Speech it can change into the Past Perfect or remain the same.
“I was late for work,” she said. She said she was/had been late for work.
6. If the direct verb is in the Past Perfect, it remains the same in Reported Speech.
“I had already written to him,” he said. He said he had already written to him. Past Continuous usually remains the same in Reported Speech. Direct Speech: “I was reading while my parents were watching TV,” she said. Reported Speech: She said she was reading while her parents were watching TV.7. Certain words change as follows depending on the context.
Direct Speech: this/these here come Reported Speech: that/those there go (in his office) He said, “I’ll be here again on Monday.” (outside the office) He said he’d be there again on Monday.8. In Type 1 Conditionals tenses change in Reported Speech as follows: the Present Simple becomes Past Simple in the if-clause and will becomes would in the main clause. There are no changes in the verb tenses in Reported Speech when the direct sentence expresses a general truth or is
Conditional Type 2.
“If you ask Liz, she’ll help you,” he said. He said(that) if I asked Liz, she would help me. “The earth is a planet,” he said. He said the earth is a planet. (general truth) “If you studied more, you’d pass your test,” he said. He said (that) if I studied more, I’d pass my test.9. When the introductory verb is in the Present, Future or Present Perfect, there are no changes in the verb tenses.
Mum says, “Dinner is ready.” Mum says (that) dinner is ready.
Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech.
1. “I’m never going to have a pet,” my sister always says. My sister always says (that) she is never going to have a pet.(The tenses do not change because the introductory verb is in the present simple.) 2. “I haven’t been to Paris before,” said John. John said (that) he hadn’t been to Paris before. 3. “If I see him, I’ll invite him to the party,” said Mary. Mary said (that) if she saw him, she would invite him to the party. 4. “I met David while I was working in Manchester,” she said. She said (that) she (had) met David while she was working in Manchester. (time clause) 5. “Water boils at 100 °C,” he said. He said (that) water boils at 100 °C. (general truth) 6. “I’m going to Spain next week,” he said. He said (that) he was going to Spain the following/next week. 7. “I’ll help you to repair your car tomorrow,” he said to me. He told me (that) he would help me to repair my car the following day/the day after. 8. “I saw him yesterday but he didn’t recognise me,” she said. She said (that) she saw/had seen him the day before but he didn’t recognise/hadn’t recognised her.
(past tense remains unchanged in Reported Speech or changes in Past Perfect) 9. “I’ve applied for several jobs this week,” he said. He said (that) he had applied for several jobs that week. 10. “If I were rich, I would buy a mansion in Beverly Hills,” she said. She said (that) if she were rich, she would buy a mansion in Beverly Hills. (reported conditional type 2 – the tenses remain unchanged) 11. “I’ve been living here for five years,” he said. He said (that) he had been living there for five years. 12. “I got my exam results last week,” he told them. He told them (that) he got/had got his exam results the week before/the previous week.
REPORTED QUESTIONS
¨ Reported questions are usually introduced with the verbs ask, inquire, wonder or the expression want to know. We use affirmative word order and the question mark is omitted. The verb tenses, pronouns, and time expressions change as in statements.
“What did you make for dinner yesterday?” Bob asked me. Bob asked me what I made / had made for dinner the day before. “Where are you going?” Martha asked me. Martha wanted to know where I was going.¨ When the direct speech begins with a question word (who, where, how old, how long, when, why, what, etc.), the reported question is introduced with the same question word. When the direct question begins with an auxiliary (is, do, have) or a modal verb (can, may, etc.), then the reported question begins with if or whether.
“Why do you want to leave your job?” Pam asked me.
Pam asked me why I wanted to leave my job. “Did you have a nice time?” he asked us. He asked us if/whether we had / had had a nice time. “Can you ride a motorcycle?” Ben asked David. Ben asked David if/whether he could ride a motorcycle.Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech.
1. “Do you want a lift to work tomorrow?” he asked her. He asked her if she wanted a lift to work the following day/the day after. 2. “What time have you arranged to meet Jane?” he asked her. He asked her what time she had arranged to meet Jane. 3. “Is Mary still having a party next Saturday?” she asked me. She asked me if/whether Mary was still having a party the following Saturday. 4. “Did you actually see the man fall?” the reporter asked the bystander. The reporter asked the bystander if/whether he/she actually saw the man fall. / The reporter asked the bystander if/whether he/she had actually seen the man fall. 5. “Who was at the door?” David asked Janet. David asked Janet who was/had been at the door. (subject question so we don’t change the word order) 6. “When will you do your homework?” Meg asked me. Meg asked me when I would do my homework.REPORTED COMMANDS AND REQUESTS
¨ To change commands from Direct Speech into Reported Speech we use tell as a reporting verb.
The Imperative becomes a full infinitive.
“Be quiet!” she told us. ® She told us to be quiet. “Don’t touch the statue!” he said to us. ® He told us not to touch the statue.¨ To change requests from Direct Speech into Reported Speech, we use ask as a reporting verb. The Imperative becomes a full infinitive.
“Please open a window,” she said to me. ® She asked me to open a window. “Don’t drive so fast, please,” she said to him. ® She asked him not to drive so fast.Turn the following sentences from Direct to Reported Speech.
1. “Don’t run down the corridors, please,” he said to us. He asked us not to run down the corridors. 2. “Go to your room and stay there!” said his father. His father told him to go to his room and stay there. 3. “Don’t make so much noise,” the librarian said to the boys. The librarian told the boys not to make so much noise. 4. “Close the door, please,” he said to her. He asked her to close the door. 5. “Don’t walk on the grass,” the park attendant said to us. The park attendant told us not to walk on the grass.MODALS IN REPORTED SPEECH
¨ Certain modal verbs change as follows:
will ® would
He said, “One day I’ll be able to afford a car.” He said (that) one day he would be able to afford a car.”can ® could
He said, “I can speak French.” He said (that) he could speak French.can ® could/would be able to (future reference)
He said, “We can meet tomorrow.” He said (that) we could/would be able to meet the next day.may ® might
He said, “I may call you.” He said (that) he might call us.shall ® should (asking for advice)
He said, “When shall I come?” He asked when he should come. must ® must/had to (obligation) He said, “You must finish this.” He said (that) I must/had to finish it.¨ Would, could, might, should, ought to, had better, used to and mustn’t do not change.
Must does not change when it expresses a logical assumption.
“I might talk to her,” Danny said. ® Danny said (that) he might talk to her. “You must be tired,”Paul told Susan. ® Paul told Susan (that) she must be tired.Turn the following sentences into Reported Speech.
1. “You can come in, but you mustn’t make any noise,” she said to him. She told him (that) he could go in, but he mustn’t make any noise. 2. “You had better speak to the manager,” she said to him. She told him(that) he had better speak to the manager. 3. “She must try harder if she wants to succeed,” he said. He said (that) she must/had to try harder if she wanted to succeed. 4. “Kevin may need your help later,” he said to me. He told me (that) Kevin might need my help later. 5. “You must be hungry,” she said to him. She told him (that) he must be angry. (deduction)